stay close to me (don't go away)
by aoinii
Summary: Ice Skating AU in which Levi and Eren meet during a competition. They spark a friendship and later on begin to form a relationship. It comes with its own hardships since even though they get together, they still need to compete against each other. (Heavily inspired by YOI)


welcome to pt 2 electric boogaloo of my nanowrimo experience!  
just a couple notes that will help the story make sense!

i dont ice skate! i know nothing about it! i know point values only bc i watch the olympics, youtube videos, and yuri on ice! if ive written something wrong, kindly let me know in the comments section!

reiner and eren are not going to legitimately get together in this fic. its just some feelings that they unknowingly have for each other, but they fizzle and fade as they meet their endgame lovers. no matter what though, they'll always be close.

more notes at the end! enjoy for now!

* * *

**stay close to me (don't go away)**

Ocean Eyes

The ice sung beneath my ice skates. It felt smooth as silk, a very light but nearly soundless scraping droning on as my skates carved figure eights below me. I was oblivious to anyone coming or leaving the skating rink, my teal eyes focused solely on the ice. I had a lot on my mind, a lot to think about.

The Olympics were coming up, a time of the year that stressed me out, yet also managed to excite me beyond belief. I'd worked my whole life to skate in the Olympics, to prove to others, _to myself, _that I was capable of doing whatever I set my mind to. It'd taken a tremendous amount of hard work to get to where I am today, my mind a constant jumbled mess of skating terminology and routine ideas. I'd just barely managed to keep my grades the same or at the standard for an athlete, immense joy still flooding my veins at the knowledge that I was finally done with my undergraduate degree.

I was quickly snapped out of my thoughts by the main doors of the rink opening and closing loudly, my eyes lifting from the ice to find my coach entering the premises.

"Jeager! You're here early! Couldn't sleep or something?"

I shrugged slightly, making my way to the edge of the rink so I could go speak to him without yelling. My coach was Reiner Braun, a rather tall and intimidating man. It took some time for me to get used to him at first. I wasn't used to someone being so mean yet caring, pushing me to work harder and harder things into my programs but only with the goal to succeed. By now I would consider Reiner a friend, but of course only when not on the ice.

Sometimes, I found myself considering him _more_. However, skating _always _came first.

I had to focus.

"You know how it is when it's competition season…" I mumbled quietly, taking the guards my coach offered me. Stepping onto the main floor felt odd after having skated for so long, but I put the strange feeling beside me.

"Well, you're gonna need sleep if you're gonna stay on your feet, Eren. Try to get more rest. If you think we need to, we can take you to the doctor to see if any medication will help you."

"...All right. Thanks Reiner."

After the brief exchange we seamlessly moved into practice, the smooth sound of the violin in _La Parfum de Fleurs _moving my body like a puppet. I was able to lose myself in the song each and every time it played, never growing old despite the fact that I heard it at least fifteen times per practice, if not more.

Even though we were going to an ice dance competition tomorrow, I still practiced my Olympic routine every day. My dance program was nearly flawless at this point, two quick run throughs per practice enough to keep it fresh in my mind.

If only my official programs were as easy for me to conquer.

My foot wobbled as I touched down after attempting a quad toe loop. The jump was one of the hardest in my routine, but definitely not impossible for my skill level. I'd executed it perfectly before, but something about today just felt… off.

"A bit wobbly there! Strengthen your ankle and core, and try the jump again. Once you get it right we'll cut it for the day. We do have to wake up early to catch our flight after all."

I took his advice into consideration as I attempted the jumps a couple more times. My landings became firmer, though they still weren't at their best. Eventually we called an end to practice, the sun having set a little while ago.

I found myself walking outside, my breath clouding the air in front of my face with small white puffs. My eyebrows were furrowed as I thought about my routine. Something about the music had seemed off today. Maybe it was just the weather.

✿ﾟ｡･*.━━.*･｡ﾟ✿

I had about fifteen minutes until I was expected in the spotlight for an ice dancing competition. I typically liked to participate in these even during the competitive season in order to keep my name in the media and make sure that my skills are sharp. The skill level was a fairly different set, as the people judging and viewing these types of shows looked for things that Olympic judges didn't always look for. Because of that, I still had the same set of nerves that I had before even my biggest performances in front of the entire world.

As my name was announced I deftly stepped onto the ice, a small push sending me gliding towards my designated starting point. I gave a customary wave for the fans, not really seeing their individual faces. My eyes were a bit blurry, as they often became when I attempted to focus on the program at hand. I stopped at the middle of the ice, my head down and my arms wrapped around myself.

The first few notes came from the immaculate sound system, my head slowly rising as I pushed my feet to send myself sliding backwards. The beginning of my program was centered around various loops and spins. The first jump was a quad salchow, my skates shining as they left the ice.

_"No fair…" _

I eventually fell into a combination spin, my eyes closed to avoid getting too dizzy. The song held a lot of meaning to me, even if it was almost tragically sad. For some reason it just resonated in my soul, the voice artist's soft voice always giving me strange tingles.

_ "__I'm scared…" _

A quick step sequence soon followed, small pricks of sound coming to my ears before I launched myself into a triple lutz. My ankle wobbled just a tad as my skates kissed the ice, my body flying directly into a double axel before finally gliding on the ice once more. My hands came up to my face as I began a combination spin, my back arched as I held my head. I soon leaned forward, raising a leg to touch my toes as the spinning picked up speed.

_ "__I can't stop thinking of your diamond mind." _

I flew through a great portion of the program, various components sure to wrack up points in my favor. The crowd was deathly silent, the low instrumental behind the voice clear as crystal. I set up for a jump with the intent to soar into a quad axel, however a sense of uncertainty managed to distract me. The jump became a triple axel, which was all considered still a decent jump, but no where near what I was aiming for.

_ "__Those ocean eyes." _

I skipped through my final step sequence, a small spin coming right after. I slowed to a stop, my hands rising once more to hold my torso as I breathed steadily. My eyes were closed, a slight red tint showing through my eyelids from the spotlight beaming upon me.

The applause began before I could open my eyes, my lashes soon lifting to see that I was directly facing the entrance to the rink— facing Reiner. His eyes were wide as he stared at me, his face white as a sheet.

"Ah... Yeah." The words came out as the barest of whispers, my lips barely moving.

I'd nearly forgotten that I hadn't let Reiner see any of the program. I may have asked him for advice on certain components, but I didn't want for him to see what type of routine I could come up with by myself. It was a challenge I'd made for myself, and well… It was also a gift. A gift to show Riener that even if it didn't seem like it, I was always listening. It was to show that even if I couldn't win the bigger competitions, I took his teachings to heart, and that I'm immensely thankful for them.

I skated towards him with a subdued smile on my face after waving my goodbyes to the audience, the thunderous applause nearly deafening. He gave me a lopsided smile as I approached him, one of his large hands making its way to reset on my shoulder.

"I couldn't have come up with a better program myself."

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the distribution of skater - coach - dance instructor is as follows (ages are included!)

eren (24) - reiner (29) - mikasa (28)  
armin (24) - bertolt (28) - sasha (25)  
jean (25) - ymir (28) - hitch (27)  
marco (25) - annie (27) - krista (27)  
levi (28) - erwin (29) - hanji (28)

i hope these make sense later! thank you for reading! please let me know what you think, and i'll see you next time!


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